Shelter Youtube Advert - World of Our Own - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGIYzugykGA
This film clip is about the younger generation and how they are affected with homelessness and/or a lack of housing security.
The clip begins 'on another planet' - where a girl and her dad are astronauts, exploring the unknown. Together, they see Santa and friendly Aliens - constructs that are dreamed of when you are a child, making the advert seem extremely peaceful, playful and happy.
Though, this care-free, utopian setting is then disturbed by the 'reality' - as we then see a male and a woman (who we can infer are related to the girl) arguing and showing their displeasure to their living situation - "I can't take this anymore! It's been 2 years".
We then see the full reality, where the girl is now in her (inferred) bedroom with her father, surrounded by bags, mould on walls, and wearing a cardboard box - cut out like an astronauts helmet. She looks extremely scared, but comforted by her father and encouraged to carry on imagining.
The daughter and father then go back to the 'planet' and see a comet, and then the clip ends with an emotive, thought provoking statement - "Love alone can't protect a child from homelessness But your donations could help".
I understood that perhaps the comet is used to act as a 'shooting star' - and that star carries a wish... a wish for donations and a better living state for the little girl - what is personally, very emotional to understand as the audience.
To end, Shelters brand logo is used and they also use a statistic - "A record 15,000 children homeless" - clearly displaying the magnitude of the issue, reinforcing the serious tone of the adverts 'reality'.
I chose this clip as I believe it challenges traditional stereotypes of the homeless being middle aged males with addictions. To advertise a childs perspective of homelessness, their helplessness and still very innocent mind (that still believes in Santa and Aliens), is very emotive and thereby extremely effective to Shelters charity.
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Media Theory for A Level
Theory Definition:
- After some reading, please see below one particular point that interested me...
Focusing on Stuart Hall, he carefully highlights that people can also 'misread' a product.
Stuart Hall explains that this could be due to:
1) Overly Complex Narratives
eg. surrealist narratives eg. Alice in Wonderland, might be difficult for an audience to follow or decode a product successfully.
2) Ideas Are Too Alien
eg. if the nature of the content falls beyond the audiences everyday experiences
eg. a news story about migration from a country that is at war may be removed from the audiences typical, everyday experiences - so unable to fully comprehend the full intended meaning of the story.
3) Language Cannot Be Decoded
eg. if they have been encoded using a foreign language or use vocabulary that is too complex for the reader.
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Summarised Article – I Want to Fit in! The Rise of #LiterallyMe, by Hannah Pettit
The concept of ‘literally me’, has increasingly became apparent recently, where a certain cohort of particularly young men on social media openly idolise characters from films.
The ‘literally me’ trend began back in 2018, when a Facebook user posted a meme depicting a male teenager sitting in front of a laptop comparing himself to five actors smoking cigarettes, including Al Pacino in Scarface(1983), Keanu Reeves in Constantine (2005) and Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca (1942).
Within two years, the post received more than 2,900 shares, 540 reactions and 250 comments and soon spread to multiple social media platforms resulting in users comparing themselves to characters in TV and video games, but most popular movie characters.
The average male ‘literally me’ character is disconnected from society, struggles from mental health and emotions, and is unable to fit in.
Common characters include:
o Patrick Bateman from American Psycho (2000)
o Tyler Durden from Fight Club (1999)
o Office K from Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
And many more…
Due to the similar traits, including being lonely social rejects who share dissatisfaction with the world and act on it and rebel against society due to their poor treatment - they are memorable, complex characters.
To a less radical extent, female ‘literally me’ equivalents also exist, typically they dress alternatively, suffer traumatic experiences and isolate themselves from others.
Common characters include:
o Jo March from Little Women (2019)
o Amy Dunne from Gone Girl (2014)
o Nina Sayers from Black Swan (2010)
And many more…
These male and female characters all embody ‘doomer’ culture, which exposes an extremely pessimistic and nihilistic outlook on life and deep concerns for global issues.
The deeper meaning behind ‘literally me’ arguably could be that it is a way for those to cope and feel see themselves reflected in a character for comfort and reassurance. But the result is a vicious cycle, as this unhealthy approach results in a swarming mass of toxicity, misogyny and general hatred. These ‘sigma males’ go on to form hate groups and cults rooted to these radical characters.
George Gerbner’s studies reveals that while television might not cause a certain behaviour, over time it can significantly alter viewers perceptions of the world. There is not enough concrete evidence of the degree to which peoples identities are altered and it is highly likely that some of these people sharing ‘literally me’ content do not particularly identify with the characters but instead find the meme funny and ironic but in all jokes, there is an element of truth and it is alarming to consider that to some extent that some of these characters are so deeply admired that their behaviours are being replicated.
In conclusion, while no one is perfect, flawed protagonists who grapple with societal expectations are often easier to relate to.
Unlike idealised heroes, e.g. Captain America, characters deemed ‘literally me’ resonate because their imperfections feel authentic.
Though some may view this identification as misguided or controversial, the comfort these characters provide clearly speaks to many today’s society.
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